Fun in the Sun
by Krystal Rhapsodos
Summary: This is a sad fic. Riku and Sora take what starts as a normal trip to the lake, but swiftly turns tragic. Oneshot, character death, maybe some onesided Riku/Sora, quite a bit of angst. I DO NOT own KH! R&R plz thnx.


**Fun in the Sun**

**Prologue**

"How could this HAPPEN!" Riku shouted, standing in the doorway of his room. He walked over to his bed and sank down on it. "I…it just can't…" He buried his face in his hands. He sobbed for a time, he didn't know how long.

"Riku, what's wrong? I heard you shout."

Riku's head snapped up to see Kairi standing in the doorway. He stared at her blankly, not knowing what to say.

"Riku, you're starting to scare me. What on Earth is wrong?"

"Kairi, it-it's about Sora."

"Did something happen? Tell me, Riku!"

"Kairi, Sora's dead."

_2 Hours Earlier_

"C'mon, Riku! I wanna go swimming already! Hurry up!"

"Hold on a moment! Jeez, Sora, you're so impatient!"

Riku's voice was muffled from behind his bathroom door.

"I'm still waiting!"

"All right! Sheesh! I'm coming!"

Riku stepped out of his bathroom, clad in a pair of aquamarine swim trunks that perfectly matched his eyes. Sora suddenly felt very small and awed. But only for a moment.

"Uh…um… come on, Riku. I wanna get there before the lake closes!"

"Sora, the lake doesn't _have_ hours of operation."

"Yah, well, you were going so slow, it'll be midnight before we get there!"

Riku just laughed and ruffled Sora's hair.

"Ri-_ku_! You know I don't like that!"

"That's why I did it."

"Why I oughta…" Sora trailed off into unintelligible muttering.

They walked out to Riku's car together, where Riku got into the driver's seat, leaving Sora to pout for a few moments before getting into the passenger seat.

"Why do _you _always have to drive, Riku? I have my license, you know."

"Yes, I _do_ know, Sora. However, I doubt you could reach the pedals and the steering wheel at the same time."

"Hey! Not funny! I am _not_ short!"

The drive to the lakeshore was uneventful, and when they arrived, Sora was pleasantly surprised to find that they were the only ones in sight.

"Hey! There's no one else around for, like, a mile!" he said, twirling around in a circle.

"This gives us a whole beach to do whatever we want!"

Riku smiled slyly, looking at Sora from the corner of his eyes.

"Whatever we want? Hmmm…"

Sora let the comment slide, and focused on the water.

"Hey, Riku, race you to the pier!"

The pier in question extended a good 20 feet out into the lake. The two teens ran toward it, neck-and-neck almost all the way, until the last 5 feet of the race. Sora gained the lead and won, but just barely. They arrived in a dust cloud, both of them out of breath and laughing.

"Jeez, Sora, how'd you get so fast?"

"I dunno, running from all those Heartless, I guess."

Sora waded into the water.

"Come on Riku! The water's great!"

"I'll take your word for it—yaaagh!"

Sora hooked an arm around Riku's ankles and pulled him off-balance. Riku fell into the water with a splash. He came up spluttering.

"Blah! Lake water tastes awful! You little…! Get over here now!"

The only response was uncontrollable laughter from Sora.

"All right, that's IT!"

Riku charged after Sora, at least as best as he could. It's hard to run in waist-deep water.

"Hahaha—AAH!"

Sora was unceremoniously dunked.

"AAH! Water up my nose! VERY PAINFUL!"

Sora retaliated by splashing Riku in the face. The struggle continued for about ten minutes. Finally, Riku conceded defeat. Panting and fatigued, he climbed up onto the pier, using the ladder on the side, and walked toward the car, intending to retrieve the beach chair he'd brought. He was stopped by Sora's voice.

"HEY! Where ya going? Come back here Rik-!"

Sora never finished his sentence. As he waded toward the pier as fast as he could go, he stepped in a hole.

"WHOA!"

He tripped, falling forward. His head hit a log on the pier's side, knocking him out. He sank under the water.

All Riku heard was a muffled "thunk" noise and a splash. He turned around at the sound of Sora's shout, just in time to see him go under.

"SORA!"

Riku moved faster than he'd ever run in his life. He dived into the water, despite one tiny part of his brain chiding him, "Didn't your mom always say not to go into water you couldn't see the bottom of?" He realized that Sora must have drifted away from the pier. But it had been only a few seconds since he went under. Something wasn't right.

Riku looked frantically for Sora, despite the murky water. He found himself in a part of the lake that was so deep he had to swim. Something brushed up against his leg, and he was about to thrust it aside when he realized what it was: the necklace that Sora was always wearing.

"Oh my God!"

He knew then that Sora couldn't be far away. He swam with renewed urgency, until he bumped into something. He felt around, and realized it was Sora. Or Sora's body.

He was never really able to remember afterward how he got back to shore. He just sort of found himself there, with Sora in his arms.

He laid Sora down on the sandy shore, and felt for signs of breathing, just like he'd learned in health class just a few weeks before, when they covered CPR. When he found none, he had a brief flash of panic before he forced himself to calm down.

He went into full autopilot, just going through the motions of CPR, not letting himself think about what he was doing, especially not who he was giving CPR to. All the while he was doing CPR, a tiny part of his brain whispered bitterly, darkly, that this would be the only time his lips would ever touch Sora's, and Sora didn't even know it. If Sora could hear what he was thinking, what would he say? He shoved the thoughts as far down in his mind as he could, and continued with the CPR.

After about 5 minutes he gave up. He would later torment himself with the question, "If I'd kept going, could I have saved him?" but at the time, he was too exhausted and adrenaline-y to think about that.

He looked down at Sora, so still, and just broke down. He cradled Sora in his arms and just sobbed. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, just holding his friend.

Eventually, he sort of passed out. He didn't really faint, but his vision got all blurry. When things refocused, there were people standing around him, trying to take Sora away from him. He resisted at first, but someone said, "There's nothing you can do. Just let go of him." At that, his arms fell to his side, and he slumped down, exhausted, and in more than a little bit of shock. He'd been running on adrenaline ever since he saw Sora go under, and now it had finally run out.

The paramedics took him to the hospital, where doctors poked and prodded him and asked him questions. Recurring questions were, "How did your friend die?" "Were you the only one around?" and "Did you even try to save him _at all_?"

He met all of these with numb silence, too drained to even try to answer. The only thing that ran through his mid was: _Sora's dead. He's dead and I couldn't save him. It's my fault. All my fault. All my… All… mine…All… _

When he was finally released to go home, he stumbled outside into the parking lot. He half-expected his car to be there, and then mentally laughed at himself for thinking that. Of course his car wouldn't be there, he'd ridden to the hospital in an ambulance. Imagine his surprise when he saw his car parked near the doors. He fumbled for his keys, which a nurse had handed him as he left. His hands shook so badly, he accidently hit the panic button twice before finally unlocking the doors. He drove home in a daze, still in shock.

When he finally stumbled through the door of his house, he was still numb. He just couldn't accept it. Sora, gone? His best friend, since he'd been 6 and Sora had been 4. Gone, just gone. And it was a stupid accident! What a lame way to die. Hitting your head on a pole, knocking yourself out, and drowning. And Riku hadn't been able to do anything, just sit there and WATCH HIM DIE!

The funeral was three days later. Riku had gone looking through Sora's belongings the day after he died, and to his shock and grief, found Sora's will.

_He shouldn't have had to have a will! He was only 16, for God's sake!_

Riku's anguish was further deepened when he saw the date on the will: just 4 months before Sora's… death. It was still hard to say, or even think, that… that word in connection with Sora.

Sora's will was simple. Since his parents were dead, he had left all of his possessions to his many friends, Riku included. Sora had broken his will up into sections, each section detailing what possession(s) went to each person. Riku broke down again when he saw what his section of the will read:

"And to Riku, my bestest friend ever, he can have my Keyblade. I know he always wanted it, and hopefully I won't need it where I'm going! Also, he can have my original Keyblade chain, ya know, the necklace. Even if the Keyblade didn't choose him so he can't actually use the Blade, hey, it's the thought that counts, right?"

At the end of the will was a special section marked: "Funeral Details." It was a list of plans or requests about how Sora wanted his funeral to be conducted, written in his own handwriting. It read, in full:

First of all, NO WEARING BLACK TO MY FUNERAL! It drives me NUTS when I see a funeral on T.V. and everybody's wearing all black and the funeral is all dull and drab. Not for me! I HATE black! Wear any color clothes you like to my funeral, even stripes and polka-dots and plaid, but absolutely NO BLACK! (Hell, wear all three at once if you want!)

Secondly, I don't wanna see ANY newspaper articles saying how much of a hero I was. I saved the world a couple of times, big frickin' deal! I'm still Sora, not some larger-than-life legend. And especially knowing me, I'll probably die from some stupid thing like slipping on a banana peel or falling off a ladder trying to change a lightbulb.

Next, NO PLAYING SAD SONGS OR HYMNS AT MY FUNERAL! I've always hated slow songs, and I don't want to have them at my funeral. I've made a CD of my favorite songs, you can play THAT instead. I put it in the safe where I put my will, so you should be able to find it easy. You might have to warn the guests that the songs are hard rock, so they won't have heart attacks when the heavy metal comes on and they'd been expecting classical. Then again, don't warn them. It'll be funnier that way.

Last, no stupid soppy eulogies or whatever they're called. I don't want everybody bawling their eyes out over a romanticized (see, I can use big words when I wanna!) lie over how great I was. Tell it like it is! I screwed up a lot, don't forget that! Then again, DO forget it! I don't want to be remembered as a buffoon, so lies are allowed. But just a little bit.

Oops, I lied. THIS is the last request. PleasepleasePLEASE, for the love of Gaia, DO NOT ALLOW ANY EXCESSIVE (Yay for big words again!) CRYING AT MY FUNERAL! I WANT IT TO BE LIKE A CELEBRATION OF MY LIFE, NOT A MARKER OF MY DEATH! NO DEPRESSING SPEECHES, NO COMMENTS ABOUT "OH, HE'S IN A BETTER PLACE NOW," OR " WELL, IT'S FOR THE BEST," OR ESPECIALLY NOT "WELL, IT'S GOD'S WILL." I DON'T WANT PEOPLE SITTING QUIETLY IN CHURCH PEWS LISTENING TO SAD SONGS OR DEPRESSING SPEAKERS! I WANT IT TO BE A PARTY, NOT A FUNERAL. I WOULDN'T BE CAUGHT DEAD AT A FUNERAL (EXCEPT FOR MINE!). GIVE ME A PARTY OR GIVE ME... WELL, I'D SAY DEATH, BUT TOO LATE!

AND DON'T THINK I WON'T KNOW IF YOU IGNORE ANY OF THIS! REMEMBER, WHOEVER'S READING THIS, I'LL BE WATCHING YOU AND I'LL MAKE THE AFTERLIFE _SOOOOO_ NOT FUN FOR YOU (ONCE YOU GET HERE) IF YOU IGNORE ME!

Riku couldn't help but smile as he read the list. That was Sora, all right. Immature, hyperactive, and funny as hell. Never mind the fact that he'd been in battle, killed people too, he was always just Sora. Well, he had matured over the years, but inside, he was still Sora, just a kid from Destiny Islands who loved pranks, sparring, and rock music and his friends. One in particular. (Riku hoped.)

But no matter now. Riku still needed to show Sora's will to the other teens/young adults who ran the Islands. (All the adults on the Islands had been turned into Heartless during the First Heartless War. Kids ran the Islands now, with the oldest teen getting the most important position, and all the way down the chain.)

Long story short, he did. The leaders, one of whom was Riku himself, all agreed that Sora's will should stand unaltered, as well as the list of requests.

All of Sora's many friends attended his funeral. None were wearing black, and some were wearing a particularly eye-hurting combo of stripes, plaid, and polka-dots, having taken Sora's ban on black clothes at his funeral truly (maybe a little too truly) to heart. The ban on sad songs was happily followed, as well, and a migraine-inducing mix of Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, and Three Days Grace filled the air. Riku gave the eulogy, but kept it balanced, as per Sora's instructions. He avoided being too sappy, but still gave Sora credit where credit was due.

The funeral wasn't held at a church, or even a funeral home, but at one of Sora's favorite spots in Destiny Islands, a tiny island just about half a mile from the mainland. Sora was laid to rest at the base of one of his favorite trees on the island, a huge, ancient specimen that had been decorated with Christmas lights, All Hallows' Eve decorations, and T.P.'d more times than anyone could count. (The T.P'ings were usually Sora's doing.) The sun shone brightly, as was common in the Islands, and more than a few mourners complained of sunburns the day after the funeral.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye. Each mourner in turn walked up to the open coffin and paid their last respects. For some, this meant actually saying goodbye, while for others it meant simply standing by the coffin's side and remembering good times they'd had with Sora.

Riku was the last to go up to Sora's body. He refused to think of the body in the coffin as _Sora_, because the Sora he knew was full of life and cheer. What lay in the coffin was just his shell. When he started to approach the coffin, he almost couldn't do it. His mind filled with the memory of Sora's death, and he was almost overwhelmed. But he steeled himself and walked up. Sora was so white and still… Riku thought wildly, _That can't be Sora! Sora isn't that still, that cold, that…_dead! But as he looked down at Sora, he was struck by the thought that the teen looked at peace, and even maybe smiling a little bit. A sense of peace and—dare he say it—love washed over Riku, and he murmured, smiling slightly, "'Bye, Sora, you little goofball. I'll see you again someday, I hope…"

**Many, Many Years Later**

Riku was an old man, now, and he was dying. He had outlived all his friends from Destiny Islands, and his wife. Yes, he'd married Kairi, on what would be one of the happiest days of his life. Still, both of them had never forgotten a certain brown-spiky-haired 16-year-old who'd loved them both with all his heart.

And Riku had loved him back. He knew it now, as he lay dying. Kairi had known about it, and to her credit never loved him any less because of it. He hoped that where he was going, he'd see Sora, but he wasn't too sure.

He was unsurprised to feel his breathing slowing, but was shocked when he heard a voice calling to him.

"Yo, Riku! How's it going, brudda?" Riku looked up to see his best friend, Wakka, standing before him. Wakka looked young, maybe around 15.

All of Riku's friends in life gathered around him, laughing. But there was one face still missing from the crowd. Riku looked around, but didn't see Sora. He asked hesitantly, "Where's Sora? I thought he'd be here, to greet me."

Kairi laughed. "Oh, you'll see…"

She led Riku away from the crowd, over to a lake that Riku hadn't noticed before. As he walked hesitantly up to it, a voice, a familiar voice called to him.

"Hey, Riku! What took you so long?"

Riku turned, and saw Sora floating lazily on his back in the middle of the lake. Sora looked exactly the same as he had when he died, as young as ever.

"Sora? But I—I thought you'd be…"

"Old?"

"Well, yeah."

"In the afterlife, everybody is at the age they'd be in the prime of their life. I guess I was in my prime when I died, since I didn't age. Take a look at yourself. You're young again, too!"

Riku looked at his body and was shocked to see that he seemed to be 18 again, young, healthy, and strong.

"Sora… This is…"

"Surprised? I was, too."

"What is this place?"

"I already told you, it's the afterlife!"

"But—but I should have gone to—

Sora cut him off with a laugh.

"You really still believe that you could go to—to that place?"

"Wait, so this is heaven?"

"Pretty damn close to it!"

Riku walked toward Sora, still not believing his eyes.

"You're really here?"

"Yes! How many times do I have to say it, YES!"

"Can I come swimming in that lake with you?"

Sora grinned, that same smile that made Riku's heart melt and always made him grin in return.

"Come on in Riku, the water's fine!"


End file.
